MND relaxes rules for volunteer military recruitment
ROC Central News Agency
2014/01/28 20:02:56
Taipei, Jan. 28 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Tuesday that it has relaxed the rules for volunteer military recruitment, including age, height and restrictions on tattoos, as part of efforts to meet recruitment targets of 10,557 for 2014.
There will be a total of eight stages of selection, with applications accepted from Feb. 20, said Bai Chieh-lung, a human resources official at the MND.
The age limit for soldiers will be raised from 28 to 32 and the MND will not only provide training programs to help promote them to non-commissioned officers in the future but will also extend the serving period from 10 to more than 25 years, Bai said.
The height requirement for members of honor guards and marching bands will be changed from 178-195cm to 176-200cm, Bai added.
The MND will also allow tattoos smaller than 5cm in length and width, as long as they can be concealed by short-sleeved shirts and shorts.
The regulations prohibiting anyone with a confinement criminal record from joining the military have also been abolished, Bai said.
A colorful printed brochure on the country's military system, volunteer force program and recruitment requirements will also be distributed to high schools, government offices and metro stations, the MND said.
Taiwan plans to shift to an all-volunteer force by 2017. It originally planned for the transition to be completed by 2015, but pushed the date back due to lower-than-expected recruitment numbers.
To that end, the government has been trying to offer more incentives for young people to pursue a military career. For example, since Jan. 1, the government has raised monthly duty allowances for volunteer soldiers and non-commissioned officers by between NT$2,000 (US$66.05) and NT$4,000 per month.
(By Claudia Liu and Maia Huang)
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